JetBlue pilots join union

JetBlue Airways’s pilots have voted to join the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA), officials with the union announced this week.

Seventy-one percent of JetBlue’s pilots voted in favor of joining ALPA, according to the labor group’s leaders.

ALPA President Lee Moak said the JetBlue pilots’ decision would help improve working conditions for pilots across the U.S. aviation industry.

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“ALPA welcomes the JetBlue pilots,” Moak said in a statement. “The association is ready to work with JetBlue pilots to achieve their goals. They make our union stronger by adding their unified voices to the association's strong bargaining and advocacy efforts. ”

Moak added that JetBlue’s pilots would see immediate benefits from their association with ALPA.

“JetBlue pilot members immediately have available ALPA's aeromedical advisors and insurance benefits. The Association's world-class safety structure is also ready to go,” Moak said. "We'll now start working hand-in-hand with JetBlue pilot representatives to set up the structure for them to make democratic decisions about their future and help negotiate their first contract.”

JetBlue’s ALPA Organizing Committee Co-Chairs Gustavo Rivera and Rocky Durham said the company’s pilots were looking forward to the anticipated benefits of voting to join the union.

“JetBlue pilots have voted for ALPA representation so that we have the ability to improve our professional careers,” Rivera and Durham said in a statement. “As committed as we are to our objectives, we also want to work with management to ensure we continue to contribute positively to JetBlue's success. We believe in JetBlue and look forward to helping make this company one of the best in the industry.